As some of you know, I've been having issues with my P22. First it broke a hammer spring, now the safety engages every other round or so. I've heard some people say that they had the same problem with the Remington Thunderbolt ammo that I was using.

I know some of you have thrown several thousand rounds down the range without a problem. What are you using?

I've probably put 3,000+rd. total through my P22. 1 box of the one's it hates, and the rest in the one's it likes.

It should also be noted that my P22 has had it's fair share of problems, most of which I have corrected. But, I love the gun for what it is; a cheap plinker.

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thanks.

any problems with the barrel? I've noticed my barrel seems to have started to... I don't know how to put this (I'll post a picture this weekend when I go back home).... melt? The very end of the barrel now has a very small, disfigured blob a the end of it. The inside of the barrel doesn't appear damaged at all... it might be totally cosmetic, but....

Yes. Tons of fail-to-fires with the Winchesters. And even more with the Remingtons. To the point where I was ready to throw them in the trash.

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Ugh. I've got 1000 rounds in my room. Hopefully they might run better in my 10-22? Haven't had the chance to shoot it yet. But if they are just garbage, I'd rather pitch them than risk damaging the gun.

There is a known issue with these guns specifically (and most other 22's, actually) with this ammo. It's cheap, dirty, has terrible SD/ES, and most importantly it will turn your barrel into a smooth bore in a couple rounds. Lead from the bullet will deposit itself into the grooves of your barrel, and it is an absolute bitch to clean out. Seriously, throw that shit away.

There have been numerous reports and warning across the various boards about this. If you would like more information, then I suggest heading over the the Walther forum at www.RimfireCentral.com.

FWIW (I personally don't like these guns, and have had nothing but problems with them) I've had my best luck breaking these guns in with Stingers/Velocitors for 100-200 rds, then switching over to a steady diet of Remington Golden Bullets, or CCI Mini-Mags.

There is a known issue with these guns specifically (and most other 22's, actually) with this ammo. It's cheap, dirty, has terrible SD/ES, and most importantly it will turn your barrel into a smooth bore in a couple rounds. Lead from the bullet will deposit itself into the grooves of your barrel, and it is an absolute bitch to clean out. Seriously, throw that shit away.

There have been numerous reports and warning across the various boards about this. If you would like more information, then I suggest heading over the the Walther forum at www.RimfireCentral.com.

FWIW (I personally don't like these guns, and have had nothing but problems with them) I've had my best luck breaking these guns in with Stingers/Velocitors for 100-200 rds, then switching over to a steady diet of Remington Golden Bullets, or CCI Mini-Mags.

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They're all different, really. Your's loves Golden Bullets, mine hates them. Try what works best for your gun. As for the Thunderbolts...most .22LR bullets are pure lead, so I don't see what thunderbolts would be any different. Care to elaborate on that?

Well certainly, by nature rimfire firearms are extremely ammo picky. You definitely should try out as many different flavors as you can to see what works in your gun. I only mentioned Golden Bullets and Mini-Mags because they exhibit fairly low SD/ES numbers, less frequency of flyers, and seem to work well in a variety of rimfires that I've dealt with. In the case of the P22 (which is more finicky than many), both of these rounds also seem to have a high percentage of function amongst the crowd at RFC.

As far as the thunderbolts..... Renknown dogshit. The consistency of the rounds is horrendous, they are especially dirty, and for one reason or another tend to lead up barrels EXTREMELY fast (especially P22's). I was experiencing massive lead build up (flowing out the end of the barrel around the crown like stalagmites) within 100 rds. This happens in other rimfires I own, but not nearly to the degree of the P22. This is consistent with many reports stretching across the internet. To be fair, I haven't been following the P22 world recently; so I'm not quite for sure what the technical explanation is for this (or if one exists).

In short, they suck by many accounts (including my own), and I really can't fathom a reason to shoot these over any other cheap bulk ammo. I personally wouldn't shoot them if given to me, as I've had that many problems with them.

Well certainly, by nature rimfire firearms are extremely ammo picky. You definitely should try out as many different flavors as you can to see what works in your gun. I only mentioned Golden Bullets and Mini-Mags because they exhibit fairly low SD/ES numbers, less frequency of flyers, and seem to work well in a variety of rimfires that I've dealt with. In the case of the P22 (which is more finicky than many), both of these rounds also seem to have a high percentage of function amongst the crowd at RFC.

As far as the thunderbolts..... Renknown dogshit. The consistency of the rounds is horrendous, they are especially dirty, and for one reason or another tend to lead up barrels EXTREMELY fast (especially P22's). I was experiencing massive lead build up (flowing out the end of the barrel around the crown like stalagmites) within 100 rds. This happens in other rimfires I own, but not nearly to the degree of the P22. This is consistent with many reports stretching across the internet. To be fair, I haven't been following the P22 world recently; so I'm not quite for sure what the technical explanation is for this (or if one exists).

In short, they suck by many accounts (including my own), and I really can't fathom a reason to shoot these over any other cheap bulk ammo. I personally wouldn't shoot them if given to me, as I've had that many problems with them.

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I've run thunderbolts through every 22 I own, usually rapid fire (because, hell, they're 22's) and NEVER had an issue like that.

There is a known issue with these guns specifically (and most other 22's, actually) with this ammo. It's cheap, dirty, has terrible SD/ES, and most importantly it will turn your barrel into a smooth bore in a couple rounds. Lead from the bullet will deposit itself into the grooves of your barrel, and it is an absolute bitch to clean out. Seriously, throw that shit away.

There have been numerous reports and warning across the various boards about this. If you would like more information, then I suggest heading over the the Walther forum at www.RimfireCentral.com.

FWIW (I personally don't like these guns, and have had nothing but problems with them) I've had my best luck breaking these guns in with Stingers/Velocitors for 100-200 rds, then switching over to a steady diet of Remington Golden Bullets, or CCI Mini-Mags.

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Wish I had seen this a month ago. I think my barrel is fucked. There's lead accummulation at the end of it. When I get home, I'll take a picture.

As far as the thunderbolts..... Renknown dogshit. The consistency of the rounds is horrendous, they are especially dirty, and for one reason or another tend to lead up barrels EXTREMELY fast (especially P22's). I was experiencing massive lead build up (flowing out the end of the barrel around the crown like stalagmites) within 100 rds. This happens in other rimfires I own, but not nearly to the degree of the P22. This is consistent with many reports stretching across the internet. To be fair, I haven't been following the P22 world recently; so I'm not quite for sure what the technical explanation is for this (or if one exists).

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That's exactly how I would describe mine. Less than 300 rounds through it.

I know one thing, I won't take the chance with it when I take my 10/22 out. Anybody want about 800 rounds of Thunderbolt?